High strength transparent glass-ceramic containers

Abstract

Glass-ceramic containers and methods of making glass ceramic containers with high transparency and fracture toughness suitable for use as, for example a beverage or food container, such as for example, a baby bottle or personal hydration bottle. The glass ceramic containers may have an average wall thickness in the range of 1 mm to 2.5 mm and a fracture toughness of 1 MPa*m{circumflex over ( )}½ or more.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A glass-ceramic container, comprising:
 a body comprising a glass-ceramic material and a hollow interior defined by a circumferential sidewall, a top end, and a bottom end, 
 wherein the circumferential sidewall comprises an average wall thickness in the range of 1 mm to 2.5 mm, 
 wherein the glass-ceramic material is transparent, 
 wherein the glass-ceramic material has a fracture toughness of 1 MPa*m{circumflex over ( )}½ or more, 
 wherein the body comprises:
 a base portion adjacent to the bottom end of the body, a spout and neck portion adjacent to the top end of the body, and a middle portion disposed between the base portion and the spout and neck portion, and 
 a non-uniform wall thickness in which the average wall thickness of the middle portion is different than the average wall thickness of the base portion and/or the spout and neck portion, and 
 
 wherein the body has an exterior surface that does not comprise a coating. 
 
     
     
       2. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 1 , wherein the average wall thickness of the middle portion is the range of 1 mm to 2 mm. 
     
     
       3. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 1 , wherein the body comprises radial symmetry about a central vertical axis extending from the top end of the container to the bottom end of the container. 
     
     
       4. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 1 , wherein the glass-ceramic material has an average transmittance of 70% or more in the wavelength range of 400 nm to 700 nm through a 1.0 mm thick piece of the glass-ceramic material. 
     
     
       5. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 1 , wherein the hollow interior comprises a height measured from the top end to the bottom end of the body and an average diameter defined by an inner diameter of the circumferential sidewall along the height of the body and wherein the height of the body is larger than the average diameter of the body. 
     
     
       6. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 1 , wherein the body is a single monolithic piece of glass-ceramic material. 
     
     
       7. The glass ceramic container of  claim 6 , wherein the single monolithic piece of glass-ceramic material defines an outermost surface of the glass-ceramic container and an innermost surface of the glass-ceramic container. 
     
     
       8. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 1 , wherein the body consists essentially of the glass-ceramic material. 
     
     
       9. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 1 , wherein an exterior surface of the circumferential sidewall is not under compressive stress. 
     
     
       10. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 1 , wherein an exterior surface of the circumferential sidewall is under compressive stress. 
     
     
       11. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 1 , wherein the average wall thickness of the middle portion is less than the average wall thickness of the base portion and the spout and neck portion. 
     
     
       12. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 11 , wherein the average wall thickness of the middle portion is in the range of 2 mm to 1.2 mm and the average wall thickness of the base portion and the spout and neck portion is in the range of 3 mm to 1.5 mm. 
     
     
       13. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 1 , wherein the glass-ceramic material meets Class 3 hydrolytic stability for European Pharmacopoeia 8.4 Hydrolytic Resistance Test. 
     
     
       14. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 1 , wherein the glass-ceramic material has a retained strength of at least 200 MPa in ring-on-ring testing after being statically indented with a 136 degree diamond with a 50 gram force. 
     
     
       15. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 1 , wherein the glass-ceramic material has a retained strength of at least 40 MPa in ring-on-ring testing after being dynamically indented with a 110 degree diamond at 200 mm/s with a 1 kilogram sled. 
     
     
       16. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 1 , wherein the glass-ceramic material comprises 70% or more crystalline material by volume. 
     
     
       17. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 1 , wherein the glass-ceramic material comprises a petalite crystalline phase and a lithium silicate crystalline phase, wherein the petalite crystalline phase and the lithium silicate crystalline phase have higher weight percentages than other crystalline phases present in the glass-ceramic material. 
     
     
       18. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 17 , wherein the petalite crystalline phase comprises 20 to 70 wt % of the glass-ceramic material and the lithium silicate crystalline phase comprises 20 to 60 wt % of the glass-ceramic material. 
     
     
       19. The glass-ceramic container of  claim 17 , wherein the glass-ceramic material has a composition comprising, in wt %:
 SiO 2 : 55-80%; 
 Al 2 O 3 : 2-20%; 
 Li 2 O: 5-20%; 
 B 2 O 3 : 0-10%; 
 Na 2 O: 0-5%; 
 ZnO: 0-10%; 
 P 2 O 5 : 0.5-6% 
 MgO: 0-5%; and 
 ZrO 2 : 0.2-15%.